57. Composing for Film & TV with Nomi Abadi

In this episode, Jennifer talks to piano prodigy, Nomi Abadi, who shares her journey growing up, what brought her to invent a new instrument, the NORY® Double Keytar, and also found the Female Composer Safety League. They talk about Nomi’s beginnings with her ventriloquist dummy, Dennis, and how that ultimately led her to become a film composer. They unpack her creative process for composing which involves understanding the story and subtext of a film, finding visuals that inspire them, and using textures and instruments to deepen the impact of the story. They also discuss the power of music and its ability to create emotional experiences for audiences. 

CW: mention of trauma, assault, grooming.

About Nomi: A virtuoso pianist, singer, composer, activist, inventor of the NORY® double synth, and President of the Female Composer Safety League, Nomi Abadi started composing music when she was four years old, making her concert debut as a guest soloist with the Orange County Chamber Orchestra at age five. As a piano prodigy, she became one of Mannes School of Music in New York’s youngest students ever at age eight, and performed with numerous orchestras nationally and internationally, including a solo Eastern European tour at age 11. As an artist, she released a full length album, Chase, No Running, and three solo EPs. Nomi has collaborated with various artists, including as pianist of the Grammy- nominated album "Sekou Andrews and the String Theory", a co-writer and guest vocalist on Satanic Planet’s debut album on their single, “Devil In Me” alongside Dave Lombardo (Slayer/Misfits) and Justin Pearson (The Locust/Deadcross). Nomi sung the vocals on Jacquie Joy’s club hit, “You’ll Feel Nothing”. Nomi has earned over twenty film and video game composing credits, scoring for indie films and brands such as Apple®, BOSE®, Cartoon Network® and NASA®. In 2022, she was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award in the Independent Shorts Fest for her score of the film, “The Unnatural Order”, and accepted into the Women’s Weekend Film Challenge in New York. In 2020, Nomi founded the Female Composer Safety League, a 501(c)(3) whose mission focuses on the safety and empowerment of women composers. Her original instrument, NORY®, was a finalist in the Georgia Tech’s Guthman Musical Instrument Competition in 2020, making its TV debut on the Emmy-nominated show, “The Afterparty” (Ilana Glazer) in 2022. Nomi is one of the only women in the world today to hold a keyboard instrument patent, and features NORY® in her compositions and live performance.

Nomi’s IG: @nomiabadi

Nomi’s Website: www.NomiAbadi.com

Nory Keytars: www.norykeytars.com

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